European Youth Work - Relevant Papers
On this webpage we provide an overview of relevant papers concerning European Youth Work. You can also use this to orient yourself on the most important milestones and declarations.
The following compilation of EU officials, statements and specialist literature are intended to offer a first access to the discourse space of European youth work, which is given by politics.
Youth Work is used in a global context to bundle the diversity of national and extracurricular activities by and for young people.
“European youth work should be understood in a broad sense, as the work with young people (mainly of an educational nature) which a) considers ‘Europe’ or ‘European issues’ as a key framework consideration or context, and/or b) uses funding from European youth work programmes or is organised centrally by one of the European youth work support institutions, and/or c) takes place between different countries in Europe (international) or in one country in Europe (national with a European dimension), and/or d) is conducted by organisations whose capacity has been built by European youth work programmes. In our understanding, any combination of at least two of these criteria would qualify a youth work project as European youth work.“1
Most of the specialist literature is published by the youth partnership, therefore the Youth Partnership is also discussed.
1 Ohana, Yael (2019): What's politics got to do with it? European youth work support programmes and the development of critical youth citizenship. Bonn. S. 4.
2021 - European Symposium on the Development of Critical Youth Citizenship
European Symposium on the Development of Critical Youth Citizenship
The European Symposium on the Development of Critical Youth Citizenship will take place in 2021, which is intended to provide space for a professional and interdisciplinary exchange of experts in the field of youth work in order to further promote the process of Critical Youth Citizenship. Further information.
Yael Ohana explains the concept of Critical Youth Citizenship in detail in her article “What’s politics got to do with it? European youth work support programs and the development of critical youth citizenship”. To the paper.
2020 - 3rd European Youth Work Convention, European Youth Work Agenda, Offenburg Talks #3
3rd European Youth Work Convention and European Youth Work Agenda
The 3rd European Youth Work Convention took place in December 2020. The central theme of the convention was the development of the European Youth Work Agenda. Further information.
The central text is Howard Williamson's contribution “Cornerstone Challenges for European Youth Work and Youth Work in Europe. Making the Connections and Bridging the Gaps." To the paper.
The Child and Youth Welfare Association has issued a statement on the European Youth Work Agenda. To the paper.
The German Federal Youth Association has written an article on the German EU Council Presidency, during which the convention will take place and the agenda should be adopted. To the paper.
Offenburg Talks Edition #3
In 2020 the OFFENBURG TALKS took place for the third time. The motto of the exchange was “Shrinking Spaces for Youth Work !? - Challenges for Post-Democratic Societies”. Further information.
2019 - Offenburg Talks #2, Position Papers
Offenburg Talks Edition #2
2019 participants of the second edition of the Offenburg Talks discussed about "Nationalism, Populism & Far-Right Ideologies among Young People and the Role of Youth Work". Further information.
Position Paper
German Federal Youth Association
For a good education - throughout Europe! To the paper.
2018 - EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027, Offenburg Talks #1
EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027
With the EU Youth Strategy, the youth policy framework was set at EU level for the years 2019-2027. The central concepts are participation, encounter, empowerment. In addition, the youth strategy describes 11 European youth goals for dealing with problems that young people in Europe are exposed to. Further information. To the official communication paper.
EU youth strategy focus on training youth workers
Teaching Youth Work in Higher Education. TENSIONS, CONNECTIONS, CONTINUITIES AND CONTRADICTIONS. Mike Seal (Hrsg.) 2017. To the paper.
Youth Worker Education in Europe. Policies, structures, practices. Marti Taru, Ewa Krzaklewska, Tanya Basarab (Hrsg.) 2020. To the paper.
Offenburg Talks Edition #1
The first edition of Offenburg Talks focused on "Solidarity and Young People Today". Further information.
2017 - European Solidarity Corps
European Solidarity Corps (ESC)
The European Solidarity Corps offers young people a variety of opportunities to volunteer for a social Europe. The ESC offers voluntary services, jobs and internships and supports solidarity projects developed by young people. Further information.
2016 - Workshop: The History of Youth Work in Europe #6
Workshop: The History of Youth Work in Europe #6
The sixth workshop on the history of youth work in Europe focuses on the relationship between youth work and social work and the role of both professions in the social inclusion of young people. To the paper.
2015 - 2nd European Youth Work Convention
2nd European Youth Work Convention
The second European Youth Work Convention served as a platform to discuss the developments in youth work in Europe and to develop a common basic understanding of what youth work means despite all its differences. In addition, the “Declaration of the 2nd European Youth Work Convention: Making a World of Difference” was adopted. To the paper.
Following up on the Second European Youth Work Convention and in preparation for the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 “Thinking seriously about youth work. And how to prepare people to do it” was published. To the paper.
2014 - Workshop: The History of Youth Work in Europe #5
Workshop: The History of Youth Work in Europe #5
In 2014 the workshop on the history of youth work in Europe revolved around the historical developments in cooperation between policy, research and practice, as well as conflicts and developments within youth work. To the document.
2013 - The reinfoced Youth Guarantee
The reinforced Youth Guarantee
The European Youth Guarantee is a labor market, youth and social policy instrument of the European Union. Its central goal is to reduce the number of young people who do not go to school, are not in training or employment. Further information.
2011 - Workshop: The History of Youth Work in Europe #4
Workshop: The History of Youth Work in Europe #4
The fourth workshop on the history of youth work in Europe took place in 2011 in Tallinn. In this workshop the focus was on countries that were not discussed in the previous workshops. To the paper.
2010 - 1st European Youth Work Convention, Workshop: The History of Youth Work in Europe #3, Europe 2020
1st European Youth Work Convention
The first European Youth Work Convention took place during the Belgian EU Council Presidency. Its aim was to bring together the past, present and future of Youth Work theory and practice. Central results have been recorded in a declaration. To the paper.
Workshop: The History of Youth Work in Europe #3
As part of the First European Youth Work Convention, the exchange on the history of youth work in Europe was continued. The focus was on the historical development of the methods, theories and goals of Youth Work. To the paper.
Europe 2020
Europe 2020 is a ten-year economic program of the European Union. With regard to young people, the EU aims to increase the employment rate, reduce poverty and social exclusion, reduce the proportion of early school leavers and increase the number of university graduates. Further information.
2009 - EU Youth Strategy 2010-2018, EU Strategy for Youth, Workshop: The History of Youth Work in Europe #2
EU Youth Strategy 2010-2018
The EU Youth Strategy 2010-2018 pursued two goals in particular: to open up more opportunities in the education sector and on the labor market and to distribute them equally, and secondly to encourage young people to actively participate in social developments. Further information.
EU Strategy for Youth
The EU strategy for youth was adopted by the European Commission. The European Commission is responding to the severe negative effects of the economic and financial crisis on young people. The strategy proposes measures for cross-cutting cooperation and emphasizes the importance of youth work. To the resolution.
Workshop: The History of Youth Work in Europe #2
The second workshop on the history of youth work in Europe deals with the historical development of youth work in Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Wales and Hungary. To the paper.
2008 - Workshop: The History of Youth Work in Europe #1, Youth on the Move
Workshop: The History of Youth Work in Europe #1
In 2008 the first workshop on the history of youth work in Europe took place. It asked about the relevance of the historical aspects of youth work for the current youth work policy. Reports from Belgium (Flanders), Germany, England, Poland, Malta, France and Finland were particularly in focus. To the paper.
Youth on the Move
“Youth on the move” is an EU program that promotes the mobility of young people in Europe. In particular, the program is intended to give young people access to study and internship opportunities abroad. Another component is to guarantee that young people will get a new job at least in the form of an internship within four months of leaving school or a job. Further information. To the resolution.
2007 - Youth in Action 2007-2013
Youth in Action 2007-2013
Youth in Action is an EU program that aims to enable young people to participate in mobility programs through grants to non-governmental organizations and youth organizations. The aim is to strengthen solidarity and tolerance among young people and promote their participation in shaping the EU's political agenda. Further information.
2005 - European Pact for Youth in the framework of the Lisbon Strategy
European Pact for Youth in the framework of the Lisbon Strategy
In 2005, youth policy issues will be included in the Lisbon Strategy as part of the European Youth Pact. In particular, youth unemployment, demographic change and the political participation of young people are discussed. To the paper.
2001 - White Paper - A new impetus for European Youth
White Paper - A new impetus for European youth
In 2001 the European Commission published the White Paper “A new impetus for Europe's youth”. For the first time, the White Paper consolidates youth policy issues on a European level beyond individual measures and defines youth policy as a cross-cutting task. It defines the principles of participation, responsibility and openness and introduces the structured dialogue as a central instrument that would like to actively involve young people in shaping youth policy decision-making. To the paper.
EU-CoE Youth Partnership
The EU-CoE Youth Partnership is the result of cooperation between the European Commission and the Council of Europe. It was founded in November 1998 (vgl. Youth Partnership 2020d) and since 2005 all joint activities in the field of youth have been brought together in the Youth Partnership (vgl. European Commission 2020). In addition to the European Commission and the Council of Europe, other organizations are represented in the Youth Partnership:
„such as the European Youth Forum, National Agencies of the European Commission's Erasmus+ (Youth in Action) programme, the SALTO Resource Centres, ERYICA and Eurodesk, and the Council of Europe's governmental (CDEJ) and non-governmental partners (Advisory Council), ministries responsible for youth issues in the members states, and research bodies. Partnership activities also benefit from the accumulated experience of the European Youth Centres in Strasbourg and Budapest and the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe in Lisbon.”1
The aim of the Youth Partnership is to create synergies between the priorities and programs in the youth field of the partner organizations. In addition, the partnership offers a platform to form a think tank. There are topic-specific events and publications, which are commissioned by the Youth Partnership, as well as a collection of texts on the subject of youth and Europe. The Youth Partnership focuses on three areas: Youth Policy, Youth Research and Youth Work. The Youth Partnership works particularly closely with the Pool of European Youth Researchers (PEYR) and the European Knowledge Center for Youth Policy (EKCYP).1
In addition to individual publications, the Youth Partnership publishes series, such as Coyote Magazine, with 30 issues; the T-Kits a series of 13 thematic tapes, which are to be used for training youth workers and for support in practice; Perspectives on Youth is also a series of research articles, essays and opinion pieces on the subject of youth; there is also a collection of publications on the subject of Youth Policy and the Youth Knowledge Books. The 25 Youth Knowledge Books result from research seminars or expert workshops on prioritized topics of the Youth Partnership. Further information.
1 Youth Partnership (2020): About us. URL: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/about-us.
Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union
(Image: EU)